Every time a new movie (or TV show) comes out that includes a biotech element, I feel almost obliged to see it. Sometimes I act on that obligation; other times, not. Splice is the latest, and it falls into the latter category, partly because of its truly disgusting horror-film plot, and partly because of its utterly ridiculous take on biological science and technology (not to mention the business). The fact that the movie got more good reviews than bad, however, makes it worth mentioning here. They called it “smart” and “thought-provoking,” if you can believe that. Are you kidding me? We saw better depictions of the biotechnology industry on the short-lived CBS series Eleventh Hour last year — heck, even on the Outer Limits revival of the late 1990s!

Compare the “Rotten Tomatoes” score for Splice with that of Extraordinary Measures, which is arguably the most realistic depiction of the biotech industry on film so far. The horror movie cost $30 million to make and has made over $16 million at the box office; the true-story adaptation cost $31 million and made under $15 million total. I’ll go out on a limb and say the DVD sales will be much higher for Splice. Despite the star-power disparity, horror movie fans are more likely to buy DVDs. In the end, Splice will surely have reached a wider audience.

What impression are those people getting about biotechnology science and business? For one thing, it’s totally easy to mix DNA and obtain viable organisms. For another, mutation is not only likely, it’s rampant! And like, lightning fast! Companies working on crop science are also poised to cure human diseases, and they’re creating whole new animals just to produce valuable proteins. Containment procedures are nonexistent at worst and ineffectual at best. Researchers are weirdos who don’t really know what they’re messing with, nepotism is the order of the day, and personality conflicts can have disastrous consequences. Genetically engineered organisms are unnaturally brought to term using artificial mechanical “wombs.” Mixing animal and human DNA is really, really dangerous! And according to the movie trailer, “At this very moment, in labs across the country, boundaries are being pushed, risks are being taken, and a line is about to be crossed.”

Looking back at Eleventh Hour, we find that rich people can find mad scientists who are willing to do anything they'll pay for. When regulations stand in the way, egomaniac researchers will illegally test their ideas on themselves and unsuspecting members of the public — informed consent bedamned! And all problems can be solved in hours or days by geniuses who magically seem to master dozens of separate scientific disciplines — but luckily those geniuses are the good guys. Of course, the instant cure is a staple of science fiction movies and TV (seen in everything from Star Trek to Stargate: Atlantis and beyond). But even though it (like any good episode in the CSI franchise) makes scientists into heroes, it doesn’t help us explain the huge expense and long timelines of real medical research.

For years we’ve talked about the lousy job the industry does at showing the public what it’s really all about. It’s been a few years since protestors clogged traffic around the annual BIO convention dressed in butterfly costumes, but that doesn’t mean the challenge has been met. Far from it. A general distrust of corporate motives combined with drug pricing controversies and product safety questions has taken many discussions to a higher level. But these pop culture examples show that general public still harbors a deep-seated anxiety about what you’re up to — and that they’re not all that receptive to sappy takes on the subject of treating rare disesases, even when Harrison Ford is involved.

What are you doing to ease their fears? (And while we're at it, what are your favorite — or least favorite — depictions of biotechnology in film and television?)

--Cheryl Scott
senior technical editor